Synonyms: A. zeylanica Medicus
Family: Acanthaceae
English: Malabar nut
Punjabi: Bhekar
Tamil: Adatodai
Telungu: Addasaram
Sanskrit: Vasa, Vasaka
Hindi: Adusa, Arusha
Malayalam: Adalodakam-ആടലോടകം, Chittadalodakam-ചിറ്റാടലോടകം.
Malabar nut or Vasaka is an evergreen/ perennial shrub that has leathery leaves, it grows up to 8 feet tall, commonly found in normal climates of India, leaves are dark green in color and size 10 cm to 15 cm in length and 3 cm to 5 cm wide with lance-shaped, they are bitter in taste. The trunk has many ascending branches, the bark is yellowish in color, the flowers are white and the fruits are with club-shaped capsules.
Useful plant parts:
Leaf, bark, root, and flower.
Leaf Arrangement
Shape-Lanceolate | Margin-Entire | Venation-Reticulate |
Medicinal uses:
To treat bronchial problems like cough, cold, whooping cough, asthma, and bronchitis, prevent bleeding, Fever, Tuberculosis, Chest pain, and heal wounds.
Chemical content:
Root: vasicoline, adhatodine and anisotine besides vasicine, vasicinone, and vasicinol.
Leaves: pyrrolo (2, 1b) quinazoline alkaloids, 1-vasicine, 1-vasicinone, vasicol, anisotine, 3-hydroxy-anisotine and vasnetineCarotene and Vitamin-C, vasisen ( increase platelet count).
Medicinal Properties:
Expectorant, diuretic, alterative, ophthalmic
How to prepare medicines:
The root is ground well to pulp and applied on the bottom belly of pregnant ladies to make delivery easily. One tablespoon leaf juice mixed with one tablespoon honey and drink thrice a day can cure the chronic-cough. Using as an ingredient in many of Ayurveda medicines for the treatments of cough.
Crushed leaves can applied skin ailments, it is beneficial to treat worms and Rheumatoid Arthritis (Amavatam). It is also effective to relive the rheumatic pain of dislocated joint.
Propagation:
Propagation is done by seeds and vegetative propagation(Cutting stem).
Vasachandanadi Taila | Vajraka Ghrita | Rasnairandadi Kashayam |
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